101 Days of Juicing

Tell us a little about yourself. Who you are and what you’re up to?

Who am I? I am a man of many passions who is actively pursuing music and health. I grew up in Portland Oregon, which is why music and health are deep in my blood, but I now reside in Nashville Tennessee. I recently toured India doing music, but to make money I work in an emergency room two nights a week, valet cars five nights a week and play covers at a bar two to three nights a week.

How did you first learn about juicing?

What made you decide to start juicing?

Honestly, the main reason I started juicing was because of money. I was planning my trip to India and picked up the job at the bar as well as the valeting job to help pay for a month of touring in India. Through an organization called Young Life, I help lead a local club at a high school in Nashville, I heard about a weight-loss competition. It had about 90 people throughout the USA involved. With a twenty dollar buy-in, there was a 700 dollar payout for the winner. So I figured that would be the quickest way to lose weight, and I decided to do it for 90 days and be very serious about it because I needed this money to pay for the plane tickets and other expenses.

How did you find a juicer?

I actually obtained a juicer from my best friend who acquired it because it was left in the office at his apartment complex. It was a Jack Lalane, not the best, but it did the job. I will probably save up for an Omega 8003 down the road, it is certified by the Gerson Institute.

Did you have a plan when you started? What was your plan?

My plan was eat…well, drink as many vegetables as possible with only three fruits a day. I did some research on what vegetables were really good for your metabolism, which happens to be cabbage, so I used every type of cabbage I could. The plan was to consume as much juice as I could in one day and workout so that I would drop weight.

What was your juice regimen?

I basically woke up and made a pitcher and a half of juice every morning and drank it throughout the day. The only other thing I had was almonds and maybe some tangerines when needed.

Describe the average day of juicing?

My day would start out with a warm glass of water with half of a lemon squeezed into it to cleanse the colon. After that I just drank juice, even during my morning workout; it was the ultimate recovery formula. I was doing the Insanity Workout from Beach Body. When I went to work I carried a cooler every day with the pitcher of juice in it and some BBQ flavored almonds.

What were the physical effects? How quickly did you notice them?

Well, for the first week I felt like hell. Your body is detoxing so you have no energy and feel sick, but I lost 16 lbs. in the first weeks. Throughout the 3 months of juicing and working out in the morning and running around for eight hours a day at work (I forced myself to sprint to cars), I was only sore two DAYS. Those were the days I was too busy to juice properly and ate more almonds and such than juice. I also noticed my congestion went away, which I assume was due t0 food allergies.

What were the mental effects?

Mentally my mind was clearer, I can’t really explain it any other way than by saying I went from having a very cloudy feeling in my forehead to waking up everyday with a clear thought process and feeling like I could take on the world. I also am not sure I could have conquered working three jobs, volunteering with high school students, as well as actively pursuing my music career all at the same time if not for juicing. The fact that I had to learn about 50-60 songs to play at the bar a night, while learning a new job and only running on six hours a sleep because of my morning workout and run should show that juicing is effective.

What were the spiritual effects if any?

Spiritual effects: Juicing has probably been the best thing in my life for my faith and my relationship to Christ. The discipline it takes to do a juice detox spreads to everything you do. I started each day by juicing, then working out, then having my morning meditation/quiet times and resisting the urge for sweets. It is such a positive habit to form. Plus, when I was having my devotional times, I was able to be much more attentive which is an uncommon thing because of my ADD nature. It was also much like fasting, when I was hungry I turned that time into a reminder of prayer and I asked for strength because what I was doing was part of a bigger story that involved playing music for kids in India.

How long did you juice? What were your goals?

I juiced for 101 days with 6 cheat meals. After that I still juiced, but ate healthy solid food until I left for India.

My goals were to do whatever it took to win the competition so I could fund my trip. In the last two weeks I would workout and then out of nowhere I decided to start running 7-10 miles a day in the morning, which I had no problem doing.

Have you changed your regimen since or do you continue?

I have actually never felt better in my life and it’s pretty easy to make a pitcher of juice and drink it. I have a very busy lifestyle so I found it easier than doing anything else. I do love breakfast though, so I started doing omelets and other things but had a hard time not juicing. Pinterest became a very useful tool for healthy recipes!!

Who would you recommend juicing to? Or would you recommend it?

I would recommend juicing to everyone. Another reason I took on juicing was my father, he was always in the back of my mind during those 90 days. He has been battling cancer most of his life as well as many other health problems. So I thought if this really works and I can prove it works, maybe he will do it. A lady I work with said she started doing it for her son who is autistic and it actually helped his behavioral issues. There are SO MANY positive things that come from juicing. It’s what our body was made to run on. It’s a healthy fuel. Granted, you can do the same with non juicing by eating raw food, which I have started. Cooking takes time though, juicing doesn’t.

What should people know about juicing – its benefits or inconveniences?

The benefits are great, but you have to know the first week is hell. This is because of all the crap you’ve been eating. You should also know that it seems expensive, but in reality I saved sooo much money. I spent 75 dollars a week on groceries in my area, which is $10.50 a day. Plus, it never occurred to me that it would be worth the 50 dollar membership at Costco or Sams Club for their produce. So it could be even cheaper.

What is the deal with India?

India is a strange adventure for me. Five months ago a friend of mine who lives in India was visiting her home in Nashville and we happened to run into each other. She told me that the Indian kids she works with through Young Life had loved my record and listened to it a lot. So I told her I’d give her 200 copies to take back to India and she gave me 750 dollars and asked me to think about going to India to play music with Young Life. So I started working two extra jobs to fund my trip. It was originally for a couple of weeks and just one Young Life camp, but ended up turning into a month longer trip to four cities across India and being the musical guest for two Young Life camps. You can go read more about it at www.SendEricToIndia.com

What are some of your favorite juice recipes?

I actually just put EVERYTHING I have in my frig together and have never changed my recipe. www.jointhereboot.com has some great recipes though!

Any bad juicing experiences?

Adding a tomato!! Don’t do it. It smells like butt and makes your juice taste gross. I took it to work and all the patients in the ER kept saying my work space smelled like ass. It was an awkward night.

{Eric Parker Before & After}

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Rama is a Holistic Nutritionist and Mama to 2. She resides in the Pacific NW and enjoys good food with great company, date nights with her husband and quality time with her Littles. "Eighty percent of our immunity lies in our gut. What we eat matters. When we focus on whole, unprocessed foods and begin to lessen our toxic load in all aspects of our life, we become nourished and we heal at the cellular level."

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8 Comments

Obviously the first week is hell but what about after that? Will I really be getting enough nutrients to live actively? What about protien? Just eat almonds? I was under the impression that you should only have juice.

Hey, Ruth! So this is for detoxing and weight-loss purposes. If you want to do a true detox, this is a great way to go. Your pumping your body full of raw medicine essentially and from the sound of it…you can be pretty active after the first week of hell 😉 Erik was running 7-10 miles on only juice only and working three jobs, getting less sleep and feeling alive and energetic. I’ve only done a 5-day and by day 4…you’re on a natural high. It’s incredible. Obviously 101 days is insane, but he was doing it for a weight-loss competition. I would say a 5-day or 10-day is a great way to Reboot! Let me know if you do it!!

My husband needs and wants to lose weight. But it’s so hard For him. He loves it hen I juice and he said he would juice to help him lose weight. I figured I would do it with him and start next week. We are planning on discussing it more before making it official but I believe he will feel so much better. I love Freshly Grown btw. Used your video to break my chicken this evening. THANK YOU!

Ruth, you’re so welcome! Glad you digging the posts and they are helpful. He will benefit from juicing, if you wanted to detox and still ‘eat’ you could always do lean proteins, juice as much as you can throughout the day and raw foods (salads, produce, nuts, smoothies, etc.). This would be huge for weight-loss and his health. Next week I’m gonna take on a 5-day detox challenge eating this way, ya’ll should join!

I looked over the Express Detox and it looks amazing. I think he would love adding some things that you can actually eat! he is doing SO good though. The only thing he has eaten was raw fruit (apples/oranges) and he has turned down offers for cooked, unhealthy food! I’m so proud of him. He definitely has the right attitude. Also, I have been working out every day and it’s totally fine! I’m so happy.